Bravo unaware 'Real Housewives' couple was crashing White House

By Christopher Rocchio, 11/27/2009

Bravo has confirmed that Michaele and Tareq Salahi are being considered as The Real Housewives of D.C. cast members but added neither the network nor show's production company had any knowledge they were crashing Tuesday night's state dinner at the White House.

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"Michaele Salahi is under consideration as a cast member; as such, Half Yard Productions were filming the Salahis on that day," a Bravo spokesperson told The New York Times in a Thursday report.

"Half Yard was only aware that per the Salahis they had been invited as guests."

The Secret Service is currently looking into security procedures after the Salahis were able to attend Tuesday night's White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh despite the fact they weren't on the guest list.

The Secret Service learned of the security breach when it began to receive media inquiries about their attendance at the private event after photos appeared on Michaele's Facebook account.

"Honored to be at the White House for the state dinner in honor of India with President Obama and our First Lady!" Michaele -- -- a former Washington Redskins cheerleader, according to photos posted on her Facebook account -- wrote on the website. "A Sensational Night honoring India."

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told The Times that "a Secret Service checkpoint which did not follow proper procedure to ensure these two individuals were on the invited guest list."

However a Secret Service checkpoint did initially turn the couple away, according to NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, who attended the event and saw the Salahis waiting in a line of cars to enter the East Gate of the White House.

"Actually the first ring of Secret Service security had worked," said Williams during a Thursday NBC interview, according to The Times.

"After their vehicle was turned away, they hopped out. What attracted our attention was there was at least one camera trailing them. And a makeup woman got out and fixed the woman's hair and then started powdering the man's forehead."

The Salahis subsequently joined a line of dinner guests at an entrance for pedestrians, according to The Times, which added The White House has stated the couple was not seated for the dinner and it remains unclear under what circumstances they left the event.

In addition, the couple's publicist released a statement for their attorney Paul W. Gardner, who "states emphatically that the Salahis did not 'crash' this event."

"We look forward to setting the record straight very soon," reads the statement, according to The Times.

The couple's "record straightening" will apparently include a Monday night appearance on CNN's Larry King Live, The Times reported.

Michaele, T.H.E. Artist Agency owner Lynda Erkiletian and Mary Amons, wife of venture capitalist Rich Amons, were all subsequently reported to be cast members by The Washington Post, which was the first media outlet to report on the Salahi's White House crashing.

A Bravo spokesperson told The Times that the show's cast still "has not been finalized."